September Favourites ’22

I can’t quite believe how quickly September flew by. Literally it felt like yesterday it was the first full week of September, so the fact it’s now the second day of October… It’s just mad!

I’m rather excited for October due to Halloween, as well as Bonfire Night looming. It’s also at the end of the month when me and Dane have some time off together to celebrate the colder celebrations of the year and more. Not to mention the excitement of Pokemon Scarlett and Violet coming out next month too! November is an exciting month, but I’ll save chatter about that for next months favourites post. 😉 So yeah, October is a bit of a calm before the storm kind of month for us.

A lot happened in September with (what felt like) events left, right, and centre! I do just want the world to slow down a little to be honest… I’m wary we’re less than 100 days until Christmas and God knows how many until my 33rd birthday… I looked… 96 days…

One thing I’m especially excited for for the rest of the year is how many people I’m meeting who I’ve befriended thanks to the internet and similar interests. This time next week I’ll be meeting up with someone I befriended through a Discord, which I know we’re both excited for! 😀

I’m going to jump straight into the September favourites, as I’m wary I’m going to waffle on! 😛

Beauty – Dove Body Scrub Pomegranate Seeds & Shea Butter and Dove Body Scrub Crushed Macadamia & Rice Milk.

This was a more recent purchase that I got towards the end of September, and in a short space of time it has fast become a favourite! I love a good body scrub, especially foaming ones as I feel like they’re sort of cleaning as they scrub. Anyone else feel like that? Anyway, to be honest I mostly use body scrubs on my underarms and legs before shaving. However, I will use all over too if I feel it’s needed. I picked up two types of the Dove body scrub, Pomegranate Seeds & Shea Butter and Crushed Macadamia & Rice Milk, as at the time of purchasing (and publishing this post) they were buy one get one free from Superdrug. I have wanted to try the Dove body scrubs for a while now, so didn’t see the harm in taking up the offer! These have fast become a staple for sure as they smell really good and leave my skin feeling soft and moisturised after use. They’re not rough in terms of scrubbiness, which is ideal if you have sensitive skin. I had a horrible allergic reaction on my legs to a body scrub recently (name here) so my legs are grateful for the Dove body scrubs, that’s for sure. My only problem with the Dove body scrubs is that we don’t have as much choice as America do. For example, they have the Brown Sugar & Coconut Butter, which I would LOVE to get one day!

Movie – Kalifornia.

I’ll pre-warn you now, the trailer for this film is so cringe and typical of the early 90’s. I remember watching this film with my parents when I was a teenager, and although it’s classed as a horror/thriller, we found so many parts hilarious due to some of the stuff Early would come out with. Kalifornia is about a writer and his photographer girlfriend, who are planning to drive from Kentucky to California, writing and taking photos for his book as they go. Due to the costs of such a trip, they advertise for people to travel with them, with the advertisement being filled by Early and his girlfriend. Prior to leaving and during their trip, things go from weird, to bad. On my dad’s birthday we spoke about the film again, one Dane had never heard of before, so I decided to buy it for us to watch one evening. I think due to the trailer (and the way we sold it to him) Dane didn’t expect much from it, but by the end of the film, he commented how much he enjoyed! I highly recommend if you fancy giving it a watch! It has a big cast with Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes.

TV Show – Bee & PuppyCat.

I’ve been so excited to talk about Bee & PuppyCat this month! As regular readers may have seen, I did talk about the show prior to it’s launch on Netflix at the start of September (which you can read here). I really loved the updated version of season one, however there were some hilarious and memorable moments from the original that I was sad not to see. I can only imagine they were so good previously that recreating them again wasn’t doable… But I don’t know. I won’t spoiler by mentioning what they are, but in the future I might write a blog post of what I thought of the Netflix version. To conclude here, I’m so excited for another season (there better be one!) as well the hype that is now around the show. I’ve always followed the hashtag on Instagram for the show so I always saw people’s posts about it. Since the show came out last month, I’m always seeing and discovering new people through Bee & PuppyCat, which in turn just makes me so happy!

Music – Electric Callboy Tekkno.

Electric Callboy’s new album Tekkno released towards the end of September, which both me and Dane were excited for! We were also meant to go and see the guys play last week but due to one of the singers falling ill, the gig has been postponed, which is a shame, but at the same time it’ll still be an amazing show! 😀 Tekkno is such a fun album and one I’ve been finding myself listening to lots since it came out, with putting it on in the morning on my way to work, whilst I’m working, as well as on my drive home! Electric Callboy are a band everyone should check out at some point, with their sound being a mixture of metal and electronic. We discovered them in 2020 when “Hypa Hypa” came out. Our friend told us about it and since then we’ve both been hooked!

Game – Bear & Breakfast.

I’ll be honest, as the days loomed for this game coming out, I did contemplate whether or not to buy. A review I watched mentioned how repetitive the game is, which wasn’t such an issue for me, but it did kind of put me off. Alongside that, I already have plenty of games to play so I was a bit torn. In the end, I bought it and have played it on and off the past couple of weeks! Bear & Breakfast is a game where you’re a bear and start a chain of bed and breakfasts in your woodland to try and encourage humans back to the forest. It’s a very basic game, but fun nonetheless if you want a game you don’t want to have to think too much about! Sadly the past week I haven’t touched it, as I’ve been working on some last minute cross stitch projects… More about that under other. 😛

Just a few of my favourite things…

Nature Centre, Birmingham.

I went out yesterday with my bestie and our best boys to see some cute animals at the Nature Centre in Birmingham, then lunch at our favourite independent coffee place. It was so lovely and I’m so glad the weather held up for us, as prior to that it has been fucking miserable! I started to really get into the autumnal feels and I honestly can’t wait for more of that. My bestie loves red pandas, so I told her it was time for us to go and see some in Birmingham! We picked the perfect day and time to go as there were hardly any people there, and with some coffees in hand, we walked around the park, in awe of the cute animals in front of us. I think the red panda knew it was the main reason for us going, as it really did do some poses for us. 😛

THIS IS HALLOWEEN, THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

Back in the summer my dad asked me if I could get him some vegetable seed packets. They didn’t have one he was after, so as I joke I decided to pick up some pumpkin seeds for him to try growing. They weren’t cheap, so I paid for them and we had a laugh about it. The above photo is from yesterday. I cannot believe just how well his pumpkins have grown! They look incredible and I’m so proud of him for giving it a go! He did give one to me to grow too, but we didn’t have the luck he did. This photo just gives me so many autumn and Halloween vibes, both of which I’m excited and beyond ready for now!

“Kiki, look it’s me!”

FYI I will be posting a blog post up all about this glass, and shirayukinikki, the store/artist behind it so keep eyes peeled for that this month! Back a couple of months ago me and one of my newer friends decided to go halves on shipping some glasses by shirayukinikki to us. Since this arrived last month, I’ve been using it for iced drinks, alcohol and even just glasses of squash. I really love the Jiji and Lily bakery design behind it and couldn’t resist. Of course if you aren’t aware, the design is inspired by Studio Ghibli film Kiki’s Delivery Service, which you should go and watch if you haven’t before!

Kawaii goods.

Finally, I want to show off some cute items that arrive the past few weeks, because why not!

The first image is of my honey bear gacha by shigematsu_kun that my friend Emily was kind enough to add to her From Japan order for me! I’d seen someone buy the four honey bear gacha and showcase them on an Instagram reel, I knew I needed them! Once Emily sent them to me, I decided to stick them on my desk monitor as I thought it was the perfect home for them! I love when I’m working from home, or sitting at my desk that I can look up and see the four little cuties sat there! My desk is growing more adorable and I love it!

The second image is of my Toast the raccoon plushie by Yencat! I backed it on Kickstarter earlier this year in February, alongside with a plush pouch too. This guy is a CHONK and I love it! It’s a lovely plush for cuddling due to this, but as I already have one mochi plush I use for cuddling, I’m going to purely keep Toast for display purposes. As I may have mentioned before on my blog, raccoons feel like my spirit animal and due to that I do adore them, but this is actually my first raccoon plush! I don’t think I could have chosen a better one, do you? 😛

So, there we have it guys, my favourites from September! It flew by, didn’t it? 😛 I am excited for October though due to more autumnal vibes and Halloween. 😛

What were your favourite things about September? Are you excited for October too? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and enjoy the rest of your weekends. 🙂

July Wish List ’22

How are we already into the first week of July? This month is already flying by, it’s crazy. The past week has flown by for me and it has been a mixture of ups and downs, mostly the latter unfortunately. I’m hopeful that things will turn around soon however, as I’d like to try and spend days less mopey and more cheerly, especially as we get some nicer weather too.

June was an expensive month for me with our trip away to Manchester and other things we did, and with me trying to be better than money, I told myself I’d be good in July. Alas, so far I have not been good at all and I’m now banning myself from buying anything else until payday at the end of the month. This month I decided to get back into cross stitch, which wasn’t exactly cheap as I had to buy a lot of thread and some patterns. This being said it’s definitely been worth it as I’m really enjoying doing the pattern I bought and it’s a big one, so it’ll keep me going for quite some time! Plus, as I’m part of diyCrossing’s Patreon, I get access to lots of Animal Crossing themed patterns, so I can always do some of those too!

So, this months wish list will be items I’ve pre-ordered, need to get as staples, and items I’ll be saving to pick up in the future as a monthly treat. I really do need to be good now, I made a lot of big purchases this month. Spending ban has to come back! That being said, I really hope you enjoy this months wish list, the colour palette for it is so pretty!

• Pokemon Center Alolan Vulpix AirPods Pro Case – (link)

At the time of writing this post (day before it’s due to go live!), I have literally just discovered this AirPods pro case and I really do want/need it in my life! My AirPods currently have a cheaper ghost case on them, which I do love but it would be nice to mix it up, especially if I can get an official Pokemon one. The Alolan Vulpix and Ninetales designs for this collection is adorable, and it’s actually been quite a while now since a Pokemon collection has come out where I’ve really liked at least one item from it! As there is a little hook on the side of the case too, I’d look to try and find a special keychain/bracelet to wear when I use them to go walking.

• Sugary Carousel Puppermint Plush – (link)

This is an item I have preordered from Sugary Carousel as whilst I don’t need anymore plushies, I fell in love with their Puppermint design! I love dogs and as a kid I always loved mint chocolate chip ice cream, so this just felt like a must have purchase for me. I didn’t quite realise how big this plushie is either, but it’s approximately ten to eleven inches tall, which is huge! This won’t ship until December, which I don’t mind, as I’ll class it as an early Christmas/birthday present for me. 😛 Not going to lie, the shipping for this item was so expensive, but it’ll be worth it! The quality of the plush looks really nice and soft.

• Shirayukinikki Jiji & Lily’s Bakery 16 oz Glass Tumbler – (link)
  

I discovered Shirayukinikki recently on Instagram and since then I’ve really fallen in love with their pieces, especially their glass tumblers, with the Kiki’s Delivery Service themed one grabbing my attention the most! I’d love to pick this up in the future, but as Shirayukinikki is an American based small businesses, I’m wary the shipping costs will be a lot. This being said, it would make such a cute addition to my home, especially as recently I’ve started to make my own iced coffee, and plan to start having a go at making my own matcha bubble tea!

• Soap & Glory The Real Zing Body Wash and Body Sorbet – (link) and (link)

I kind of forgot how much I like the Soap & Glory range as I was using up the Sugar Crush body buttercream recently. Their stuff smells divine and it’s especially perfect for summer due to that. I’ve decided when I’ve used up The Body Shop goods I have currently, I’ll be picking up some stuff from The Real Zing collection, including the body wash and the body sorbet. I gave them a sniff during my short stay in Manchester and really liked how fresh and summery they smelt! Plus, I can imagine them giving me an extra wake up during and after my morning showers before I start the work day in the week. These are currently on offer too, so I may take advantage of them sooner, rather than later.

• Pokemon TCG Vulpix Seasons Playmat – (link)

We started this months wish list with Pokemon and we’re going to finish it with Pokemon too, and to boot they’re both Vulpix themed items too, which I find funny! I love how the Pokemon Center UK website is updating daily pretty much, and I especially love that we’re slowly seeing items land to the UK store that the Japan and American store have had for years! When the Vulpix Seasons collection launched in Japan in 2017 I purchased a few items from it, but regretted not ordering more. Now we can get the playmat in the UK, I’m definitely planning on picking it up in the future for my desk! I love my Eeveelutions one, but it would be nice to change it up every now and then for fun!

So, there you have it guys, the absolutely adorable items from my wish list this month! As I said, I am pretty much on a spending ban the rest of this month now, so any items on this list that I’d like to get eventually will need to wait for payday treats, or even Christmas and birthday, considering they’ll be here before we know it! :O

What do you guys have on your wish lists? Have you discovered some new items through mine? Make sure to let me know in the comments down below.

Until next time, take care guys and have an amazing weekend!

June Wish List ‘21

I am officially off work for a week! HORRAY! This has been much needed as I can’t actually remember the last time I was on holiday for more than a few days or over a long weekend. Work has been busy lately so it’s much needed! I’m excited to spend time with Dane, as well as some much needed catch up time with friends.

I do have some amazing and exciting news to share with you all for this month wish list post… I made affiliate on Twitch on Tuesday! I always said I wanted to aim for gaining affiliate at the end of May, but I got it on the first day of June instead, which is close enough. 😛

It’s also mine and Dane’s eight year anniversary on Tuesday. The years have flown by! It’ll be nice just to spend the day together. We’re planning to have a chilled day and have a picnic style dinner with drinks and yummy snack foods. 😀

I have decided in June that I’m actually going to be on a spending ban due to being a little bit too spend happy in May. I have zero regrets for a lot of the items I purchased and pre-ordered but yeah, I’ve been a bit silly. 😛

This month there are a few items on the list that are pre-orders and one that is a HUGE wish list item… Pretty sure you’ll already see which one that is, huh? 😛

• Smoko Astro Tayto Night Light – (link)

As regular readers may know and remember, I LOVE Smoko and their cute AF original characters and homeware items. It all started off with Elodie the Unicorn and has slowly moved over to Asian food related items and Tayto. A cute coach potato with big goals in life. Recently he’s been sent off into space, ASTRO TAYTO!  As Smoko is located in America, I always keep eyes peeled on Firebox’s website for any new Smoko releases. Last week Astro Tayto was added to the website and I had to fight the urge to order him there and then. I’d love to get him for my desk, at least in our bedroom to be with the other Smoko night lights I own!

• Studio Ghibli Kiki’s Delivery Service Jiji & Soft Toy Jiji Clock – (link)

I’ve had this item bookmarked in my “wish list” folder for quite some time now, but due to the price I’ve just not made the plunge to order it. I would like a clock in our office as we don’t actually have one and a Ghibli themed one would be to die for! This one is of Jiji and toy Jiji together, which I think is such a cute idea personally! Kiki’s Delivery Service has fast turned into one of my favourite Ghibli movies over the years and it was only from being in Japan in January 2020 that made me realise how much I love it. 🙂

• Sanrio PomPomPurin x Miki Takei Mini Letter Set – (link)

I decided in 2020 with everything that went on with lockdown that I would really love to write letters to some of my friends as a reminder of how much I love them, how proud I am of them and sometimes share some old and funny memories too! I bought a wax seal stamp set last year/early 2021 too so I’d love to seal letters with that! As many regular readers will know, I LOVE Pompompurin, the cute little pudding dog created by Sanrio. This letter set is so fucking cute and I definitely want a couple of packs in my life so I can write to my friends.

• JeanaDraws Lakko the Otter Apparel, Bag & Pins Kickstarter – (link)

This is a Kickstarter that I backed at the end of May and also one that doesn’t begin to fulfil until the end of the year in December. I wanted to mention it on this months wish list though because I wish I could have the cardigan I’ve backed for NOW! There are various items to back for, including knitwear, a plushie bag and enamel pins. As shown in the image I’m backing for he brown cardigan. I do love snuggling in cardigans in the colder months and I think this one is perfect for me with both working from home and out and about. I’d also really love to back for the Lakko bag too, but this isn’t my style, sadly.

• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid Tohru and Kanna Plushies.

These are pre-order items from YY Kawaii back in January and I cannot wait for them to arrive this month. Regular readers will know that Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is one of my favourite anime and manga series. When I saw these two cuties available for pre order I wanted to snag them to keep in our bookshelf with all my copies of the manga. I think they’re due around the end of June so I’ll soon be showing them off on Instagram when they’ve arrived.

• Hot Topic Studio Ghibli Kiki’s Delivery Service Oversized Cardigan.

Another Kiki’s Delivery Service AND cardigan item! I saw this for sale on Hot Topic a while ago and fell in love with it, however I didn’t like how much it might cost me to get it to the UK, so I left it. I recently discovered it for sale on a website based in the UK, so in the future I might buy it from them, if not a personal shopper I use in America. It’s a cute and simple cardigan, I like the fact it’s cream as I don’t own anything like that. Most of my cardigans are rainbow colours. It would be nice to have a neutral one for the summer months.

• Maybe a new car…?

Finally… I MIGHT be getting myself a new car this month. I spontaneously starting looking at cars online and I’ve discussed with Dane. I wouldn’t get a brand new one by the way, but I’d definitely opt for a car with a good age against it. My current car is amazing and gets me from A to B, but I think it’s starting to show it’s age of late. I want a car me and Dane can share so if he doesn’t want to use his, we can always use mine in confidence. Plus, it would have something nice like that! I said when I returned from Japan I would get myself a new car, but then COVID happened and messed up my plans. We shall see… I’ve seen one I like which we might go with. You never know. 🙂

So, there we have it! My wish list for June! I’m really excited for June to be honest with you, the weather is already gorgeous and we’re already getting plans organised with people who we’ve missed during lockdown and COVID.

Not only am I interested in what you guys have on your wish lists this month, but do you have plans with loved ones and friends this month? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time guys, take are and I’ll see you next time!

Birthday/January Wish List ’21

Happy New Year guys! I hope you all have a great New Years, even if it involved you staying it. Not going to lie, some of my best New Year celebrations have been in my own, or someone else’s home.

At the time of writing this we are three days into 2021 and so far so good. I’m back at work tomorrow (4th January) and I feel rested after doing next to sod all the past eleven days and whilst I’d like some more time off, I do feel like being back at work will start to give me stuff to do again during the day.

As well as heading back to work, my birthday is also looming (6th January) and I’m going to be turning 31… I wasn’t arsed about turning 30 last year, but for some reason adding one more year to that has kind of deflated me a little. 😛

2021 is going to be a year where I start to experiment and “live” a little more. I want to do more with my resin making hobby, including starting to create pieces to sell! I’m also toying with starting to do gaming/chat streams over on Twitch… We shall see as this is a big step.

I’ve not set any resolutions for 2021 but I have said I’d like to read more manga, as well as continue with doing my Beatsaber VR workouts. My mom also bought me a bread maker for Christmas so I’ll be making more bread in 2021 too!

I’m not going to do the whole, “things will be better in 2021!” because I’m happy to take it as it comes. If it’s similar to 2020 with the way COVID has been… Then so be it. As long as I can be safe in my home with Dane and talk to my friends and family via Facetime, Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger, then so be it!

As it is my birthday in a few days I wanted the first post of 2021 to be a wish list post, with goodies I’d like to pick up/receive for my birthday… Mostly goodies I’d buy myself, especially considering two of the items are this list are things I’ve either pre-ordered or ordered. 😛

So, I hope you’re ready to see lots of kawaii goodies! 😀

• Her Universe Kiki’s Delivery Service Jiji Hoodies Cardigan (link)

I verrry much doubt I’ll get this for my birthday or with my own money. I’ve spent so much money before Christmas panic buying from American independent artists and with a 6 week wait until payday, I’m kinda poor this month. 😛 However, I really love this hooded cardigan by Her Universe that I had to mention it this month! I live in cardigans, especially when I’m actually working in the office so I’m always on the hunt for new ones that express who I am, whilst being acceptable to wear. I don’t know if this one would be, but it’s gorgeous. I’d wear it with my tartan trousers, as well as skater skirts and leggings. I’ve never ordered from Hot Topic before, has anyone in the UK before? Please share your experience for the future! However, I may do a big Her Universe order in the future… 😉

• The Sad Ghost Club book by Lize Meddings (link)

I’m a MASSIVE fan of The Sad Ghost Club and view it daily on my Instagram account. The Sad Ghost Club is described as “a club for anyone who’s ever felt sad or lost. It’s the club for those who don’t feel like they’re part of any other club.” and for years it really has helped me when my anxiety and depression are bad and I need to feel less alone. I’ve even sent the page to friends to follow to see if it helps them to feel less alone too. It was announced back in October 2020 and I pre-ordered it as soon as I saw it landed on Amazon. I haven’t read much in 2020 and plan to change that in 2021. I want to spend more time away from technology and with my head in a good manga/novel/comic, including this one. 🙂

• Pokemon Center Fit Plushie – Dragonite (link) Save 10% from YY Kawaii’s website with the code “YYCOFFEE10”

If there is one plushie I wish I could have picked up last year (as if it’s been a year guys…) when I was in Japan, it’s the Dragonite fit plushie from the Pokemon Center. It wasn’t available to buy whilst we were there and I was gutted. Dragonite is one of my favourite Pokemon and I always have one in my party in the games. I currently have a level 100 Dragonite on Pokemon Shield. 😛 Anyway, I finally bit the bullet and reached out to YY Kawaii about ordering on with her. It should arrive in January and I can’t wait to add it to my collection! I’m planning to keep it on the top of my plushie shelf alongside the plushies I bought in Japan.

• Pokemon Mew Funko Pop (link)

I just want to get this out there that the link I’ve attached (Double Boxed Toys) has sold out of this figure…BUT I haven’t found it elsewhere for sale in the UK yet… Anyway, I REALLY need this funko pop in my life! Like Dragonite, Mew is one of my favourite Pokemon and whilst I don’t own or really want any of the Pokemon funko pops, I really want this one. I think it’s a pop I would take out of the box and keep on my plushie shelf alongside all my Japanese goodies. Otherwise, I’d keep it in the box eventually for the day I can have my own desk at home to keep it on. 😛

• Animal Crossing Mega Isabelle Plush/Pillow (link)

This is something I keep wanting to pick up… But I keep thinking about money too. As many of my regular readers and friends know, I LOVE Animal Crossing and have done since I first discovered it in 2008 when I played Wild World. With New Horizons releasing, a lot of Animal Crossing merchandise has come out in the UK which is amazing. One of these items includes this amazing Isabelle plush/pillow that I really need in my life! It’s not a bad price currently on the website/store I’ve linked and I do keep umming and ahhing about picking it up. I’m going to wait and see my birthday pass in a couple of days and then toy with whether to order it. It’s available at loads of places so it’s not like it’s going to sell out and then I’ll never get it. 😛

• Stami Studios Whale Texting Enamel Pins (link)

Finally we have some enamel pins to talk about. To be honest with you all, I think 2021 is the year where I need to have a declutter of my enamel pins, as well as stop buying so many! I’m actually toying with selling some soon. Let me know in the comments if this is something you’d be interested in seeing. I have quite a few Pokemon themed ones I’m contemplating selling. ANYHOO I’ve really fallen in love with Stami Studios designs this year and some that she has released of late have given me some nostalgic feels. Whale texts are something I used to send to my friends all the time back ten plus years ago off my HTC phone. I loved it and I’d love to do it again this year for fun. Due to this, this is why I’m so in love with these designs. You can buy all three designs separately or together. If these are still in stock at the end of January when I get paid, I’m buying these for sure!

So there we have it guys, my monthly wish list for January, as well as my *gulp* 31st birthday.

One of my friends asked me before New Year what I was thinking of doing for my birthday and I had no idea. I knew I wanted to do some baking (currently torn between red velvet cupcakes and a Japanese strawberry shortcake) as my mom’s birthday is the day after mine. So I would be baking for both of our birthday’s really. Alongside that I’m planning to cook some Chinese food for dinner, as well as make some resin goods on Tuesday night that I can continue with on my actual birthday. I’m excited to just have the day with Dane to cook/bake together and do our one hobby together too. 🙂

I’m not gutted about having a lockdown birthday because I don’t know what I would have done out and about anyway! If anything it means when everything has calmed down and we start to go back to “normal” I can do something exciting.

Do you guys have much planned during the third lockdown here in the UK? What items do you have on your wish list for January too? I know we’re all skint at this time of year, so have you bought any sales items? Let me know everything in the comments! I love reading and replying to your comments. 🙂

Image taken from Cakes With Faces Twitter page.

One more thing to say before I finish this post, I’m taking part in Japanuary over on Instagram! It was created by Cakes With Faces and all you had to do is share a post daily on your social media platform (Instagram for me) with images and some text in relation to the day. I’m really enjoying this challenge so far and it’s keeping my Japan trip alive almost a year on. 🙂

Anyhoo that’s all from me today! I hope you’re all safe and well and 2021 has treated you nice so far. 🙂

Until next time, take care all and Happy New Year!

Jenni Illustrations – Haul

August is the month of a very much needed spending ban… Which may go into September as well to be honest with you so I can try and save up some more monies ready for when Christmas is upon us.

I’ve mentioned before on my blog how during lock down I have saved and spent a lot of money on things I’d had my eye on for ages but never had the spare monies or urge to buy. I decided to on some things and have had zero regrets, even if my bank account doesn’t agree. One of the independent artists I finally took the plunge and bought from is Jenni Illustrations.

Jenni Illustrations is a Australian kawaii illustrator/designer who draws all sorts of designs from cute animals, some Ghibli inspired characters and even some of her own original characters, which I adore.

Jenni had recently closed her store and reopened it, just in time for me to make some purchases. I bought three things in total and I am here to show them off to you today in a little haul post. I really hope you enjoy it, as I’m so excited to share the goodies with you! 😀

As I mentioned before I picked up three items, a print, a sticker and of course an enamel pin.

• Soda Dog Sticker (link)

One of Jenni’s original characters that I have fallen in love with is her Soda Dog design. Not only do I love dogs but the colour of the soda being blue reminds me of Japanese ramune, which is what I think it’s actually meant to be. The sticker is a decent size and bigger than I thought it was going to be, as well as amazing quality. On the store it does tell you the size and about the quality, but I didn’t check to see how big or small it would be as I didn’t mind either way. 🙂

As you can see the design is of a soda bottle with some blue soda inside, a red lid and Soda Dog as the mascot on the label. There is some Japanese on either sides of the bottle too, which in all honesty I cannot read. I tried to see if the Google Translate app on my phone could help, but the only bit it could translate was the part on the left hand side which read “Soda Dog”. It struggled with the part on the right, but kept trying to say inu which I knew was wrong. After a lot of playing around with Google Translate I worked out that it says, “ramune”. Which makes sense! The Soda Dog design is so adorable, but I want to go into more detail about him when I talk about the enamel pin I picked up next.

So far I’ve not stuck my sticker to anything, as you can see. Instead I’ve stuck him on the side of my plushie bookcase.

This sticker cost $5.00 AUS, or £2.69 which I think is really decent for a sticker of this size and quality.

• Soda Dog Enamel Pin (link)

This is where I’m going to talk more about the Soda Dog design itself as I can’t not talk about it! I mean, look at it. 😀 Soda Dog is a little white puppy, but the bottom half of his body is blue ramune soda! He has a little red bottle top on his head, a floppy ear in the shape of a heart and massive pink cheeks. Oh and a red collar to match his hat red bottle top! This Soda Dog is of course supposed to be a bottle of ramune which has almost been finished and I think it’s such an amazing idea. When I saw that Jenni had an enamel pin design of this cute boy, I KNEW I had to buy it!

The enamel pin itself is really good quality! It’s on a gold enamel and has one back. The enamel pin itself cost $14.00 AUS, which is £7.54. I think this is an incredibly reasonable price for an enamel pin and I plan to buy more in the future from Jenni, which I’ll be showing at the end of this post.

• Kiki A6 Print (link)

First things first, at the time of me writing this post this print is currently sold out… I hope it comes back into stock because the Ghibli designs Jenni does are gorgeous! I’ve always liked Kiki’s Delivery Service, but I especially feel since my Japan trip in January that I really do love it. Japan especially love it, so whenever you go into a Ghibli store (or at least one that sells Ghibli goods) there will always be plenty of Kiki’s Delivery Service items to choose from. I actually regret not buying more. Before my trip to Japan I had my eye on this print, I love so much about it. The one thing I always love about Jenni’s designs is the eyes. They’re so three dimensional and gorgeous, I could stare at them for ages.

As you can see from the photo, it’s a design of Kiki holding Jiji, the overall design is adorable and it really brings joy to my day whenever I walk past it in the bedroom. Like the sticker, I have stuck it onto the side of my plushie bookcase. I would love to see more character from Ghibli movies drawn similar. I feel like Jenni did one of Chihiro from Spirited Away ages ago, but I can’t remember…

This print cost $8.00 AUS, which works out to £4.31, which is reasonable! If anything, I would have loved the option of having a bigger print. I would have definitely gone for an A5, maybe at a push an A4 as I honestly love this design.

So, those are all the goodies I picked up on my first order from Jenni Illustrations.

Due to COVID the items took just under a month to arrive to me. I have to be honest here and say I didn’t think shipping was cheap at £9.69, almost £10 for shipping from AUS to the UK. I didn’t care about paying the costs at the time as I really wanted the items but next time I make an order I’ll feel like I need to order plenty to make the shipping worth it.

This was a MASSIVE treat for me as I’d wanted these items for a while, but if you think the shipping is a little on the high side for you, it might be worth making an order with a friend whose also after these items and you can split the shipping fee.

Overall I am in love with my Jenni Illustration goodies and I’ll definitely buy from her store again and plan to in the future! I already have loads of items on my wish list that I plan to buy in the future and wanted to share them with you below.

Blue Clues Sticker Sheet – I loved Blue’s Clues growing up so these would be a nostalgic trip for me!

Animal Crossing Sticker Sheets – I don’t need to explain why I want these, but I do want them all!

Froggy Chair Sticker – I explained on my July Wish List ’20 post why I want this sticker.

JiJi and Lily 6×6″ Print – I would love this print to go with my Kiki print.

Dragon 6×6′ Print – This print shouts Haku from Spirited Away, who in turn is my favourite Ghibli character. I need this print in my life!

Lucky Kat Washi Tape – Whilst in Japan I discovered a love for washi tape. I would love to add this lucky cat washi tape my collection.

Chester Pin and Fern the Fox Pin – These are two more of the original characters that Jenni has drawn. Chester is a cute little red panda and Fern is an adorable fox. These are two of my favourite animals… What’s not to love, eh?

Soda Dog Keychain – I actually regret not ordering this at the time of my order, as I would have loved to add this onto one of my bags, or a set of keys. I definitely plan on adding him to my basket next time I make an order with Jenni Illustrations.

So there you have it guys! What do you think of Jenni Illustrations? Which item(s) are your favourite that I picked up. Plus, have you bought anything from Jenni Illustrations yourself? If you haven’t yet and plan to, let me know what you’re going to buy!

OH and don’t forget to check out Jenni Illustration over on Instagram too, where she shares new designs all the time. 🙂

Until next time all, take care stay safe and see you next time! 😀

Japan Haul #2 – Stationary

When you think of Japan, I’m sure the last thing you think of is stationary, right? I know some of you might, whilst others think of sushi, Geisha’s and sumo wrestlers.

Japan is CRAZY about stationary and for all the kawaii characters that you can find there, I’m not surprised why they are so mad about it. I know I had to take advantage of picking up some cute stationary whilst I was in Japan and I left with more than I intended to, to be honest with you! I’ve already spoken about the Pokemon related items on my Pokemon Haul (which you can read all about here), but I will be mentioning them here again, because why not. 🙂

A part of me wishes I’d picked up more stationary items, especially from the Sanrio store, but hey ho. 😛 I thought it would be nice to show you all my stationary items anyhoo, as I know a lot of my followers love stationary!

Washi Tape

I picked up quite a lot of wash tape on my trip, which took me by surprise considering I’d never bought washi tape until I ventured to Japan. I ended up picking up four different ones, which I will talking about below.

Tanuku & Kitsune Mounttain Theater Washi Tape – The washi tape that kick started off my mini addiction is this one from Tanuki & Kitsune and this tape is from the Mountain Theater collection. This was from a pop up shop in Character Street (Tokyo Station) which I regret not buying more items from to be honest before it left. The design on the tape matches what the image on the front shows, which is so adorable. You have Tanuki wearing a green cap, a dark brown cape and falling to sleep whilst it reads a script, whilst Kitsune is also reading a script as it wears a red cape. They’re adorable and clearly getting ready to act in their roles!

Studio Ghibli Kiki’s Delivery Duo Pack Washi Tape – After I went and picked up the Tanuki & Kitsune washi tape I decided to pick up this adorable washi tape double pack from the Studio Ghibli shop in Character Street (Tokyo Station). This is my favourite washi tape out of the four I’ve picked up as Jiji is absolutely adorable on both of the designs I got. There’s a pale blue design with daisies and blue flowers on, alongside Jiji sitting down and standing up. There’s also a dark blue design with Jiji’s face over daisy flowers. Honestly cannot wait to use these washi tape designs in my scrapbook!

Mofu Mofu Eevee Washi Tape – As I had already bought two washi tape designs anyway, I decided as I’m working on a scrapbook soon about our trip to Japan and wanted to pick up more kawaii patterned washi tape to make the scrapbook look pretty inside. Of course I couldn’t not pick up this cute mofu mofu Eevee design, which is just loads of cute Eevee’s running along the tape. I haven’t opened this yet and don’t plan to until it comes to me using it.

Nintendo Tokyo Animal Crossing Washi Tape – This is the final roll of washi tape I picked up on my trip to Japan. From memory there was this design and another one with the fruits on (Apples, Oranges, Peaches, Cherries and Pears). This washi tape design isn’t anything special and is pretty basic with the Animal Crossing design we all know and love! As well as the symbols we all know from Animal Crossing, there is also images of Isabelle and Digby too, which is what sold me to pick up the washi tape in the first place.

Mechanical Pencils, Pencil Lead and Pens

Ghibli Museum Mechanical Pencil – As I had bought my Eevee mechanical pencil by this point I didn’t actually need to buy another mechanical pencil… But considering it was from the Ghibli Museum, it was a souvenir I really wanted to pick up on my trip. This pencil is gorgeous and very minimal in comparison to some stationary you can buy in Japan. The pencil is a white design with silver metal, blue accent colours and of course an image of Totoro with his umbrella, raindrops and “Ghibi Museum Mitaka” underneath him. I really love this pencil and I currently use it for my D&D sessions.

Mofu Mofu Eevee Mechanical Pencil and Pen – The blue design is the pen, the red is the pencil. There were four designs/colours in total including the blue and red ones I own, as well as a brown (pencil) and green (pen I think). I didn’t really want anymore mechanical pencils as I have a pink one I really love (well… loved until I bought my new ones in Japan :P) to use so I didn’t need another mechanical pencil. I picked up the pen, which is black ink and was happy. When I went back to the Pokemon Center, I ended up picking the pencil up too and I don’t regret it! The pencil writes really well and I much prefer it to my pink mechanical pencil to be honest with you! The designs on them both are gorgeous with the fluffy, happy Eevee designs all over.

Studio Ghibli Kiki’s Delivery Service Frixion Pen – This was actually the first bit of stationary I picked up and I have ZERO REGRETS! This is a red pen, with gold images of Jiji and his girlfiend Lily. The way you get the pen nib to retract is by the clear part on the pen. I love a nice pen to write with, especially when I want to jot down blog notes and sometimes for D&D too (although I used to use a pencil previous to buying all my Japan stationary). I used to use Frixion pens when I was an undergrad at university 10 years ago (God I feel old saying that) as well as in my old job so these rub out pens aren’t anything new for me to use. However, the pen itself is amazing and this is by far one of my favourite items on this list that I picked up. This pen actually comes with red ink, but I bought some black Frixion refills whilst I was in Japan for this so I can use black instead of just red. I don’t know about you guys but I was brought up to not write in red ink (unless for myself) as it’s seen as rude.

Nintendo Tokyo Animal Crossing Isabelle Pen – I’d had my eye on this pen since before I went to Japan for my trip, as I’d seen most of the Animal Crossing merchandise that was for sale in the Nintendo Tokyo store. I didn’t know if I was going to pick it up or not but to be honest, some of the Animal Crossing merchandise I wanted was sold out, which sucks (although I have it now, yay!) so I made up for it with stationary… 😛 I picked up the Isabelle pen, as I love Isabelle and you can’t have enough pens, right?! This is a white pen with cream yellow accents, as well as some images of tulips along the grip area of the pen. At the top of the pen on one side is an image of Isabelle with some yellow tulips and on the other side it reads “Dōbutsu No mori” which is Animal Crossing in Japanese, as well as an image of Isabelle’s face and some yellow ears, which you also use to retract the black and red pens.

Sanrio Pompompurin Pen – This is the last piece of stationary I picked up on our trip. I bought it a few days before we left Japan and I actually regret not getting the Cinnamoroll version as well. This pen writes so smoothly, I love it! It’s definitely up there with my Kiki’s Delivery Service pen. This is a simple pen really, with mustard yellow colours and a Pompompurin mascot at the top of the pen (which is removable), as well as his cute little hamster friends all around the pen. I find myself using this pen a lot lately when I’m in my D&D sessions, as it’s such a smooth pen to write with.

Pikachu Mechanical Pencil Lead – Due to now owning a total of four mechanical pencils (aside from the two I bought in Japan I already have two back home that I use on and off), it’s always good to make sure to have plenty of pencil lead for these! I couldn’t get a mofu mofu Eevee design (they didn’t make one…) so instead I picked up a cute Pikachu design instead, which is kind of similar to the mofu mofu design. This came with quite a lot of 0.5 size led inside already, but as I owned some already from my first mechanical pencil, I decided to add them into this holder. I’ll never run out of led now!

Notebook and Pencil Case

Mofu Mofu Eevee Notebook – I have too many notebooks… I needed this one though. It’s adorable! I don’t quite know what I’m going to use it for as of yet… Maybe blog related stuff whilst I’m out and about? Dungeons & Dragons in the future? I don’t know… 😛 I just needed it! The designs on the front are adorable, with all the Eevee’s doing different things such as sleeping on books, holding quills in their mouths and sitting in teacups. Cute! There’s designs in the book too, with the Eevee holding the quill in it’s mouth again.

Mofu Mofu Eevee Pen Case – I didn’t need a pen case… But due to how much stationary I bought whilst I was on my holiday, I kind of had to! That and the pencil case I use currently for all my stationary items is from when I was studying my GCSE’s at school… Which was 15 years ago now! That pencil case is great, but I wanted something smaller and more refreshing! This one is a perfect signs for everything I bought on the trip, and I really enjoy taking it out with me. It’s so cute to bring out of my bag when I want something to write with. The image of the Eevee’s cuddling together on he one side is so kawaii!

Clear Files

Mofu Mofu Clear File – I bought quite a few clear files whilst I was in Japan, but this is my favourite one by far! I actually bought this to keep my files in for Dungeons & Dragons, but as of yet I haven’t had the chance to use it. The image on the front of the two Eevee’s is so adorable, I’d still like to frame it to be honest! 😛

Nintendo Tokyo Animal Crossing Clear Files – I can’t remember if I knew about these or not before I went to Japan, but I am so glad I picked them up, especially now Animal Crossing: New Horizons is out! You get two clear files in this set, one of which is a scene on both sides of the file of your town/island with various of the villagers homes and buildings such as Nook Cranny, the museum, town hall, Able Sisters, plenty of trees (including apple) and of course various villagers! The other file is simpler with it’s beige colour and on one side the same various villagers that are on the other file and on the other side the “Dōbutsu No mori” and Animal Crossing names.

Pokemon Cafe Clear Files – Me and my boyfriend knew we wanted to get some files for our trip in Japan, as a lot of places we ventured to (aka cafes) have the place mats that you fold/roll up and take home, so we wanted some files that we could do that with. We ordered these when we booked out seats at the Pokemon Cafe and we never actually got around to using them, or any of the other files that we bought for this purpose. Even so these files will be handy for D&D BUT, I have started to wonder if you could frame these and hang them up like prints! These would especially look great around the house and in the kitchen. I have to add, the first file is by far my favourite with the kawaii Pokemon Cafe mascots, although I am baffled about why Eevee isn’t there?! The other clear file in this double pack is meant to be a party style scene but with lots of different Pokemon eating and drinking items from the Pokemon Cafe menu, as well as the cute Pokemon Cafe staff. By the way, you can read all about the Pokemon Cafe here.

Fullmetal Alchemist Clear Files – These are actually some clear files that my boyfriend Dane picked up from the Fullmetal Alchemist Cafe that we visited during our trip (I plan to talk about it in the future!) and I’m really glad he picked them up as they’re so pretty. One of the files has an image of Edward and Alphonse Elric fighting together, this is definitely my favourite file of the two he bought. The metal arm and leg of Edward’s really do shine in the light, which was what appealed to me the most. The second clear file has the “good guys” on of Fullmetal Alchemist, which Dane had to have! I will honestly be surprised if we don’t end up framing these in the future and sticking them up in our office. 🙂

So, that is all of the stationary that I picked up from Japan! I thought this would be a nice little haul to share with you this week, especially as we went into lock down here in the UK this week too (well, Monday). I’ve been working from home and on my breaks and after work I have still been doing my writing.

Although we are in lock down here, my blog stuff will not change, I will continue to get my blog posts up every week. 🙂

So, which piece(s) of stationary that I picked up in Japan did you like? Also, what are you doing for the next couple of weeks during the lock down? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all, take care, stay safe and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend. 🙂

Wish List Wednesday – Work/Office Wear

I don’t feel like I’ve done a wish list Wednesday for ages and I’ve really missed doing it! Expect loads with Christmas coming up, as I’ll be working on present ideas for all sorts, which I should be teaming up with Sarah over at Raiin Monkey to do some posts on!

With my new job I recently went on a mini shopping trip to pick up some bits and pieces as I had pretty much sod all! You can read about what I picked up here. I’m already craving some new pieces though and I won’t be able to grab anything for a while, so I thought I would take the opportunity to do a wish list of what goodies I want.

• New Look Black Velvet Skater Skirt – £12.99 (link)

On my recent haul I picked up the normal black skater skirt and it’s so comfortable so now I want the velvet version! It’ll definitely be really nice to wear throughout the winter, especially with a nice mustard jumper and a red shirt. It’s also a really decent price too, which you can’t moan about!

• Killstar Wicca Flats – £44.99 (link)

I don’t really need a new pair of flats as I have a pretty much brand new pair that I bought for my graduation 2 years ago! Now I wear them for work and they’re okay, but they’re not the best to be honest. They’re a little bit too big for me and I can’t drive in them. I want a new pair of flats to just wear casually anyway in and outside of work and I’ve had my eyes on these for a while! I won’t be paying full price for them as for flats they’re really expensive, but if they’re on offer I’ll soon pick them up.

• Her Universe Studio Ghibli Kiki’s Delivery Service Jiji & Lili Town Pattern Blouse – $44.90, currently $35.92 (link)

This is a brand I’ve recently discovered and it’s so damn amazing! I’d know about it through Hot Topic for a while but never realised it was a brand until I was gathering items for this post. It was actually Vikki over at Cuteek who linked me to Her Universe when I was asking on Twitter about work clothing. There really are some great pieces for work on the website and I wish I could afford this shirt right now. One day it WILL be mine! It’s part of the Studio Ghibli designs and this one is of the cats Jiji and Lili Town from Kiki’s Delivery Service. This was one of the first Studio Ghibli movies I watched so I have a place in my heart for Kiki and Jiji. This shirt would be really nice to wear with a black skater skirt and boots.

• Killstar Santeria Distress Knit Tunic – £49.99, currently £24.99 (link)

Another Killstar item and this one is a knitted tunic. Killstar do gothic pieces, some of them can definitely be wearable and this is one of them. It’s just a basic tunic pretty much but it looks so snug and comfortable! I’d team it with leggings and boots or flats. I wish I could grab it whilst it’s on sale, but sadly I doubt I’ll be able to. This being said though, this has been on sale for quite some time, so fingers crossed! My only concern with this is I would worry the knit wouldn’t feel nice to the touch, I’d hate that so much!

• EMP Jawbreaker Fishnet Collar Dress – £41.99 (link)

This dress is so expensive and it makes my bank account hurt. BUT it’s also gorgeous and definitely the style I’ve been after for my new job… Just with normal sleeves instead of fishnet. I’m not going to complain though as it’s gorgeous! I will wait for it to drop in price though as for what it is, nearly £42 is a bit too much for my liking, but again when this goes in the sale I’ll definitely pick it up!

• Hot Topic Her Universe Studio Ghibli Spirited Away Confetti Wrap Dress – $49.90, currently $39.92 (link)

Another Studio Ghibli piece by Her Universe and it’s one I would love to have for work! My favourite Studio Ghibli film and one of my favourite films is Spirited Away so anything to do with that film is always something I want to own if I can. I’d love to be able to own a dress with Haku on as he’s my favourite, but I love No Face just as much! Like the Kiki’s Delivery shirt, it would be lovely to be able to wear a piece like this for work and on days off to show my love of the Studio Ghibli movies.

• Sainsbury’s TU Navy Checked Print Wide Leg Trousers – £20.00 (link)

I actually came across these on one of my work breaks last week! I was looking for some plain t-shirts to pick up for work as Sainbury’s do some really nice ones for good prices! Instead I ended up finding these tartan looking trousers, which are wide leg. They’re elasticated like the houndstooth ones I picked up from New Look, so I definitely need them in my life! I’d team these with a cream or mustard yellow jumper.

So those are the pieces I’ve been eyeing up to buy for work! I know it sounds incredibly sad, but I’m still so happy with my new job and I know it’s going to be so dangerous now I can wear my own uniform! I can wear nice clothes, so it’s going to be a constant excuse for me to buy a pretty dress. 😛

Do you work in an office? If so where do you get your pieces for work? Please leave me links below as I would love some ideas of where to shop for things!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you week is going well!